Photo: Office of the President
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused US Vice President J.D. Vance of “somehow justifying” Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. These statements were made in an interview with the American programme 60 Minutes on CBS, where the Ukrainian leader expressed concern about the growing influence of Russian propaganda in American political discourse, Politico reports.
“Unfortunately, I believe that Russian narratives are winning in the United States,” Zelenskyy said.
“This shows the enormous influence of Russian information policy on America, on American politicians.”
Tensions between Zelensky and Vance: continuing public conflict
Zelensky recalled his conversation with J.D. Vance, which took place in February at the White House and became public. At the time, Vance accused the Ukrainian president of “disrespect” for his statement that Russia would not abide by any ceasefire and criticised him for his lack of “gratitude” for US support.
“I tried to explain: you cannot seek compromises where there is an aggressor and a victim. Russia is the aggressor, we are the victim,” Zelenskyy stressed.
“This is not a propaganda tour”: a response to criticism
After the exchange at the White House, Zelenskyy invited Vance to visit Ukraine to see the consequences of the war with his own eyes. However, the US vice president called the invitation a “propaganda tour”, which caused outrage among Ukrainian diplomats and parts of the international community.
